Is It Ok To Switch Between Name Brand And Generic Infant Formula?
Wednesday, January 13th, 2010 at
5:12 pm
My 11 week old son is going to daycare soon. His daycare provides Enfamil Lipil with Iron for free. We feed him the generic Target brand at home. The nutritional value of Enfamil and the Target brand are exactly the same. Is it ok for him to drink Enfamil at daycare and the generic at home?
Tagged with: Between • Brand • Formula • Generic • Infant • Name • Switch
Filed under: Free Baby Stuff
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I think its perfectly ok. I too myself use the Target Generic for my 5 mo old son, and feed both the Enfamil and Target brand.. He seems to be okay, but every baby responds differently. We’ve been doing this since he was 3 wks old. However, if you have doubts, since you say you have some time before he goes to daycare, why don’t you try giving him both the Enfamil, and the Target brand at home, during the day, and observe him for a week or so. If the constant alternating upsets his tummy, then just stick to one brand. Try this and see how it works out for you.. Hope this helps, Good Luck
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I would talk to your baby’s doctor! I have heard that it can cause digestive problems to switch between formulas. I don’t think there is anything wrong with using generic brands, but using something at home and something else during the day might not be a good idea. I do have a friend who would switch occasionally, but I have never heard of switching between two brands every day! Asking your doctor should be as simple as just calling the office during regular hours. The nurse will probably call you back with the answer. That is how my doctors office works for things like that. The nurse will actually talk to the doctor so you are getting the doctors advice.
No you should only stick with one.
If the nutritional content is identical then it will have no ill effect on your baby. Many of the generic brands are made by the same companies that make the Name brands, just without the marketing expense behind them. I have 3 grandchildren and we often switched between the brands.
Stay with what you are using at home even if it is the same thing. Something might up set the baby tummy by switching. You can always talk to you Dr. to see what he or she says. But I would stay with the same. Good Luck
its not a good idea to be changing formulas so id just stick with one
Just because they’re the same nutritionally doesn’t mean they have the same base and ingredients. Some formulas are milk-based, some are soy based, some are corn-based, some have casein, whey, etc in different amounts. Read more here: http://pediatrics.about.com/od/weeklyque…
Enfamil Lipil with Iron is a great formula! It’s probably fine to use both and if he’s doing well on the Target brand, he’ll probably do fine on the Enfamil Lipil (what a great place to provide that for free!)
To be on the safe side, check with your pediatrician and then read ingredients (not just nutrition) to see if they’re pretty much the same. Then watch for any gastric disturbance like more gas, runnier poops, colicky behavior, rash, more spitting up etc.
I did it with my children. Found out they were getting essentially the same thing.
Contrary to what others have posted, the private label (generic) formulas are NOT made by the brand name companies.
A company called PBM products ( http://www.pbmproducts.com/ ) makes a majority of the private label formulas including Target, Parent’s Choice and Bright Beginnings. ( http://www.pbmproducts.com/media/pbm_par… a list of their products). So while these generic formulas are exactly the same as each other, they vary slightly in the “inactive” ingredients as compared to the brand names like Enfamil and Similac.
Because of this, there is always the possibilty that constant switching could cause your baby to get an upset stomach. If your son does well on one, it’s probably best to stick with that one. But if he tolerates both, I see no reason why you couldn’t switch between the two. The main ingredients and nutrition are the same.
You should try to stay with the same brand of formula. Switching can upset the baby’s tummy. If you do have to swich, just do it once, don’t go back and forth.
At First when my son was born We fed him Enfamil and sometimes Good Start. And now We use the Wal mart brand, sometimes we buy Enfamil And my son is very healthy, he hasn’t even been sick yet or anything.
I have found the Target brand to be more similar to Enfamil than to Similac, so I’d say try it and if your baby seems fine, go with it! I can’t believe your day care does that, what a savings! I wonder how they can afford to do that!
I really don’t know but i would say try not to but it wont hurt them if u do!
Contrary to what some people believe, that can of Target formula is made and canned by the same company that the can of Enfamil formula is. If you compare labels side-by-side, you will see absolutely zero diffences. It will not hurt him at all.
As long as his tummy is not reacting to the different formulas badly, then there is no problem with it. If you notice he is more gassy or has an upset stomach or vomiting all the time, you may want to rethink it. Realistically, he should be just fine.
generic brands are actually made by the name brands…..and/or they are using the same things….nothing is different other than the label and the price
yes it is safe I have done it.
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it should be ok. if everything is the same between the two, then there shouldn’t be any trouble. ask the daycare person how he does, if his stomach gets upset or he has a bad reaction to it and then you will know if you should switch or keep doing what you’re doing. good luck!
Actually Doogie & confused, Target brand infant formula is NOT made by the same company as Enfamil. Target’s store brand is made by the same company that Walmart’s Store brand is made by, a company called PBM Products, who just won a multi-million dollar lawsuit against Mead Johnson.. the makers of Enfamil for false advertising. (http://www.mommybrainreports.com/pbm-products-wins-13m-lawsuit-vs-mead-johnson/)
If you want to use a certain formula and keep with it, you might want to talk to the daycare and ask if they’d be able to use formula you bring in from home. Typically, you shouldn’t have an issue, unless you use something like Soy, or Gentle at home, and all they have is the basic Lipil at daycare.